The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), the largest teachers union in the state and one of Governor Cooper’s largest and most powerful allies is angry.
Last night NCAE sent out an interesting email. The wording was significant:
By acting together, we have the power to determine the conditions in which we will return to in-person instruction. As frontline workers and families who know how best to meet our children’s educational needs, we have the responsibility to ensure we do so safely.
The email was a shot across the bow and clearly aimed at the governor. Add NCAE to the millions of North Carolinians who are clearly tired of waiting for Governor Cooper to announce when and how public schools will re-open in North Carolina
Last week Cooper delayed a planned announcement saying:
..“ we believed we needed a little more time to make sure we get this plan right because education, I think, is the most important function of state government.”
Cooper continued:
“I think it’s important for us to get buy-in, as much buy-in as we possibly can across the board before we announce a decision. There’s going to have to be a lot of local decisions made because school districts are different.”
Buy-in is something Cooper clearly hasn’t been getting.
Parents are split on the back to school plans with many believing the plans are unworkable.
Teacher frustration is also mounting. Up to now NCAE and other education groups have kept the cracks in that support hidden from the public. No more.
Why else would NCAE be sending out emails saying:
“Who decides when schools reopen? We do”
Welcome to the mess.
NCAE Email is below
 Everyone’s saying that these are unprecedented times. But the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown has exposed what we already knew: privatizers and their supporters in our legislature have been starving our schools to death. We’ve already been fighting for years to stop legislators from prioritizing corporate tax breaks over funding our futures. Now vultures are circling as politicians push us to choose between our safety or our ability to make a living. We say: There’s another way. Public school workers and families have already facilitated a monumental transformation to ensure children continue to learn, schools and families stay connected, and the millions of urgent needs that we meet in our schools every day continue to be met in the middle of a global pandemic. The world has learned what we already knew: every public school worker is essential. Caregivers can’t go to work, businesses can’t run, our economy can’t function if our schools aren’t in operation. By acting together, we have the power to determine the conditions in which we will return to in-person instruction. As frontline workers and families who know how best to meet our children’s educational needs, we have the responsibility to ensure we do so safely. Join us to plan re-entry on our terms.In this together, NCAE Organize 2020 Caucus |
